Communicado Recruits VARs for Converged Communications Solution

The company's Quick Start Dealer Program allows authorized VARs to remotely manage their customers converged networks quickly and efficiently. It provides resellers with tools to drive significant new streams of revenue without lengthy ramp-up time or large capital expenses, according to Kerry Shih, Communicado's chief strategist and founder.

Communicado, a vendor of converged communications solutions, has rolled out a new program designed to have VARs play a more active role in the unified communications (UC) and managed services businesses.

The company's Quick Start Dealer Program allows authorized VARs to remotely manage their customers converged networks quickly and efficiently. Based on the Communicado Streamline Management as a Service platform, the program provides resellers with the necessary tools to drive significant new streams of revenue without lengthy ramp-up time or large capital expenses, according to Kerry Shih, Communicado's chief strategist and founder.

"Collaboration promises to be one of the most important driving forces in the unified communications' market going forward," said Shih. Thousands of companies are looking to VARs for expertise on how to manage the impact of IP telephony and unified communications on their IP networks."

The new channel program will give VARs the ability to augment a customer's IT staff, providing specialized knowledge, tools, economies of scale and capital budgets. The program will help channel partners build stronger customer relationships and a recurring revenue stream, Shih added.

He estimated that 80 to 90 percent of UC sales are moving through the channel. "They (resellers) are going to have to eliminate real and perceived managed risks," he noted. Partnering with a vendor like Communicado will make it easier for VARs to sell and remotely manage converged communications networks, he added.

The Communicado VAR Quick Start Program includes five Streamline Open Toolbox Appliances that come with a one-year, 100-port subscription. Sales support includes two sales training webinars with documentation, marketing collateral and sales materials. In addition, VARs receive two technical training webinars, remote installation support and Streamline portal provisioning. Finally, program provides access to a partner portal on Communicados Web site for resources, assistance with demonstration tools, a home page Web site listing and Streamline Advisory Council Membership.

Shih said 10 to 12 "large strategic partners" that include resellers, system integrators, carriers and PBX manufacturers have already joined the program in North America and the Benelux nations. Communicado recently signed a pan-European distribution agreement with Logix Group, an e-business infrastructure solution and services provider. Names of the U.S. resellers have not been disclosed.

Shih said Communicado would like to authorize between 150 and 200 channel partners under the program this year. Generally, such VARs would need to be generating between $15 and $20 million of revenue in infrastructure sales annually to be accepted into the program. "They would also need to have some nascent level of service salesmanship," Shih added.

In return, Shih said Communicado would provide them the training and applications necessary to provide a streamlined managed-service solution for their customers' back office that would include a built-in revenue stream. VARs could provide individual solutions to customers; opt to collaborate with customers in a more traditional managed services approach; or provide and maintain a complete UC solution for the customer. "There are really three different service delivery models to choose from," Shih said

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